Gains could be limited ahead of a key EU meeting to discuss plans to tackle the energy crisis in the region
Following mixed trading, Wall Street stocks finished higher overnight despite Powell’s hawkish comments on inflation. The Fed Governor also signaled that a pause in rate hikes or a pivot to cutting interest rates is not coming soon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.61%, the S&P 500 rose 0.66%, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.60%. Still, US stocks remain in a downtrend overall amid persisting concerns about a slowing economy.
Tracking recovery in Wall Street, Asian stock markets were mostly higher on Friday, albeit aggressive signals from the Federal Reserve capped broader gains. China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.82% after weaker-than-expected inflation readings for August. The data showed that consumer price index rose 2.5% from a year earlier, down from 2.7% in the previous month. Hong Kong’s technology-heavy Hang Seng index was the best performer for the day, jumping nearly 3%.
Following suit, European stocks opened higher to start the day. The upbeat tone is also seen in US stock index futures, with the S&P Index futures adding more than 0,5% on the day. However, gains could be limited ahead of a key EU meeting to discuss plans to tackle the energy crisis in the region. Elsewhere, ECB policymaker Francois Villeroy said inflation should be back to around 2% by 2024 while ECB’s Kazimir highlighted that a 75 bps rate hike was inevitable and right.
Meanwhile, the US dollar extend its bearish correction, losing ground for the third session in a row. The USD index fell below the 109.00 mark, threatening the 108.50 support zone early in Europe. Should this area give up anytime soon, the greenback could suffer even deeper losses before demand reemerges. As such, EURUSD rallied above the descending 20-DMA for the first time since mid-August to extend the ascent towards 1.0100.
